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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — the season
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com